


The Life We Choose

by Terion



Series: An Arrangement of Love Struck Fools [3]
Category: Vampyr (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don’t copy to another site, Fluff and Angst, Kinda Domestic Fluff, Minor Hints at Relationship Dynamics but Nothing Graphic, Multi, No Smut, Post-Canon, Relationship Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Threesome - F/M/M, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 14:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19814440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terion/pseuds/Terion
Summary: After they dealt with the events that happened as November dawned, Geoffrey started pulling away from Jonathan and Elisabeth. So they each came up with two separate plans to try and deal with whatever is bothering their hunter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! Here is my submission for our little birthday bash on the Discord server, written for Ghost! So to celebrate the year anniversary of our little server (as well as the game a little late), here's some more of my favorite OT3.

He spent weeks debating on how exactly to do what he intended after his little...lapse...in judgment at the end of October. It was put together mostly on a whim but also because Geoffrey suddenly started to withdraw back into himself after the little “reveal” of too much emotion. He knew that the other man was retreating from that, trying to pretend like he hadn’t given away what he had during that moment.

The hunter was still a very _private_ man despite sharing the house with them for several months. And being open in the bedroom hadn’t made him any more open in person, though there was a great deal to be read from Geoffrey’s actions there too (if one knew where to look). He might be somewhat rough during the act but after he was always...softer. Willing to touch and be touched in ways that he didn’t seem to appreciate at other times.

Jonathan knew _what_ he wanted to do. He wanted to show Geoffrey in some way that he didn’t have to be afraid of his emotions. That he wasn’t going to be rejected or anything like that, not here, not by them. He wanted him to know that he was wanted there and that he _belonged_.

After briefly speaking with Elizabeth about what he intended, he began to figure out exactly _how_ to do it. Since he could not be overly direct without fearing that Geoffrey would flee or at least retreat even more than he already had, Jonathan knew that he had to approach things carefully. Thus the first thing he did was to merely observe Geoffrey and the time he spent doing things around the house with a far more careful eye when he was home around his hospital shifts or on his few days off.

For the most part, he observed, Geoffrey spent a great deal of his time in the house on his own. By and large the other man kept to himself. He never specifically _left_ a room when one of them entered it but there was an obvious withdrawal that Jonathan noticed far more frequently now that he had seen it the first time. The other man would also rarely answer questions in little more than subtle grunts. And when he entered a room where either of them were already in, he never sat close to them - not until he was invited to join them did he ever move.

“Is he scared or nervous, do you think?” he had asked Elisabeth one night right as he began his observations while they watched the hunter stalk away through the dark, off to find prey in the city that could sate his hunger.

She had merely sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder before replying softly, “I think a little of both, Jonathan. It is my suspicion that some part of him does not yet believe he belongs here with us. Or does not _deserve_ to.”

Jonathan had frowned at her reply and did his best to not feel disappointed by that answer, since he had learned all too well from Geoffrey that he was absolutely _terrible_ at hiding his emotions from his progeny. (A sin he would have to apologize to Edgar for one day given that the man had once held a flame for him that was never returned and had suffered through his own pining for the hunter with zero complaints. It could not have been easy.)

“Then what do we do?”

“We merely do what we can to show him otherwise. The rest, I'm afraid, is up to him alone.”

It wasn't until it was almost the very end of November that he actually came up with something of a plan. There wasn't terribly much to the plan except to merely...be more _approachable_. The first opportunity he had to begin was arriving home one night after a very long and exhausting evening at the hospital. Only a few hours were left before dawn sent them to slumber and normally he would simply work until that time.

Tonight he changed his routine.

After Jonathan left his bag, coat, and suit jacket in his office, he made his way into the front room and found Elisabeth there. As she usually did on most nights she was curled up on one of the couches with a book on her lap and a cup of tea sitting off to the side on the table. He smiled at her from the doorway before he moved into the room, enjoying seeing her so relaxed with her hair spilling over her shoulders and that soft smile she often wore as she read.

Leaning down over the back of the couch, he rested his hands on either side of her and softly kissed her cheek. "Hello, love," he murmured warmly, humming with pleasure a moment later when she turned her head to kiss him on the mouth.

"Hello, my dear Jonathan," she replied before frowning. Lifting a hand, she gently ran her fingers through his hair before stating, “You look exhausted. Are you certain you wish to go forward with your plan tonight?”

Smiling, he shook his head and replied, “I am tired but it will be a welcome distraction. Now... where is our errant hunter?”

“Cleaning weapons in the dining room.” Elisabeth then smiled and reached for her cup, lifting it up towards him. “Will you get me a fresh cup, my dear? Cold tea is no good for enjoyment of its smell.”

Taking the cup as the excuse to enter the kitchen that it obviously was, he kissed her cheek again before he stood up straight and deliberately made his way there through the house on a route that went through their little unused dining room. Geoffrey had the entire table covered with a heavy cloth to keep anything he was working on from leaving any marks upon the wooden surface and had more guns and knives and other bladed weapons laid out across it than Jonathan had collected in his rescuing of London. The man had even found a few of those that he had kept from years ago for _just in case_ scenarios that he might need one.

He smiled as he entered the room, uttering a quiet, “Good evening, Geoffrey," as he walked through. The only answer that he got was an indistinct grunt...but when he ran his hand across the man's shoulder, there was a subtle tremor that rippled over the quiet of their bond. Jonathan smiled to himself as he moved on into the kitchen, quietly repreparing the cup for tea and putting the kettle on. As he waited for it to heat up, he shifted to stand in the doorway that led into the dining room and just watched for a moment.

He liked watching the confident way that Geoffrey moved as he handled the weapons, as if he knew them all by heart, down to the smallest detail. His movements were certain, without any hesitation, and when he did have to focus on something, it was with an intensity that was almost palpable. The same sort of intense focus that came to the forefront in their bed as well.

“You just going to stand there gawking, leech?" Geoffrey growled but Jonathan didn’t start or take offense. _Reid_ had disappeared from the hunter’s usage except in the bedroom and he had reverted back to _leech_ instead. It had hurt at first but realizing it was Geoffrey’s own fears that had brought it back made him capable of understanding.

That and he _remembered_ that little spur of the moment declaration even in his mild delirium. _That_ came from somewhere, they just had to teach him not to fear that place.

Moving forward, he rested his hands on the back of Geoffrey’s chair, fingertips brushing against his shoulders, and replied, “I was actually about to offer my aid if you wished it. There are quite a few weapons that you have laid across the table here and given the nature of some of my own that I see here, I imagine you may need help getting them back into shape.”

The broad shoulders resting against his fingers stiffened briefly then relaxed, their weight leaning against his hands for a moment before pulling away. Geoffrey just grunted and grumbled, “If that’s what you want to do, leech, go ahead. Don’t let me stop you.”

“Let me finish refreshing Elisabeth’s cup of tea then and I will join you. You can show me which one’s to begin with, yes? It’s been a few years since I had to clean up anything but I’m sure the method will come back to me.”

“Just so long as you don’t _break_ anything.”

Jonathan just smiled and leaned down to say, “I'm certain I won't have any problems with you leading me.” He then pulled away before he could _see_ Geoffrey's reaction but he felt it as an almost curling spark of affection and want that flared across the back of his mind. Returning to the kitchen and the kettle just before it began to scream across the house, he quickly made the cup of tea and returned to Elisabeth.

With a broad smile he sat her cup and its saucer down on the table before he leaned in to kiss her with a pleased hum. She laughed and asked, “Your grand plan is in action then?”

“Yes!" he replied enthusiastically. Then he smiled and softly asked, “And what of your plans for our hunter?”

“I will put them into action when the time is right,” Elisabeth answered as she lifted a hand to cup his cheek. “For now you take your time with him, my dear. And remember to be gentle.”

Jonathan just laughed and asked, “Aren't I always?”

“Unlike our hunter I _have_ witnessed you when you let down all of those walls, Jonathan. One day we will have to introduce him to how dominant you can be...but that is for another day. Now go on.”

He let out a little huff of breath in response before he left her alone again, returning to the dining room...where he immediately noticed that the hunter had been nervously eyeing the doorway. As soon as he stepped through, Geoffrey acted as though he had been busy the whole time as he picked up the detached barrel of a gun that had been laying in front of him, hurriedly going about cleaning inside of it with a long brush. “Was wondering if you were really coming back,” he growled, sounding annoyed.

“Of course I was coming back,” Jonathan reassured as he moved to take the seat to Geoffrey's left. “I would never say I will do something and then not do it without an explanation.” He then reached out to lay his hand on the other man's arm, lowering his voice slightly as he said, “This is where I want to be, Geoffrey. Right here. Spending my time with you.”

Silence answered him for a moment and then a pistol was shoved in front of him with a grumbled, “Fine. Work on this, leech.”

“As you wish, hunter," he said with a small smile as he began to work on taking apart the gun to clean it. They sat in silence after that, each working on their own, and Jonathan was content with that...though he was trying to think of ways that he could subtly get closed. After a while Geoffrey's leg bumped into his and didn't move away and he couldn't help but _smile_ a little . He pressed his own back against it and felt the pressure returned without hesitation, darting his eyes towards the man.

There was no sign of his attention on his face, everything seemingly focused on what his hands were doing...but the leg and the reassuring pressure of it did not move beneath the table, remaining firmly against his.

Smiling to himself, Jonathan turned his attention to the pistol in his hands and was content to soak in this moment. Here, on his terms, there was no hesitation to the man, even if his affection was hidden.

It was a start.


	2. Chapter 2

Jonathan’s method of drawing their lover out of his shell was an all too subtle one, in the end. He inserted himself politely into Geoffrey’s space and allowed the hunter to approach him, not the other way around, and returned the affection that he was given.

Her plan had a far different framework.

On a series of evenings when Jonathan was gone - off on some weekend trip for the hospital - she finally put her own into motion. Clad in what would be warm clothes for the cold evening outside, she found him in the front room flipping idly through the day’s paper and reached out to give a sharp tug at the top of the bundle of papers. Blue eyes darted up to hers and he growled, “What?”

“Come with me.”

Geoffrey frowned, his eyebrows furrowed but still not consistently looking up from the paper, and asked, “Why?”

Elisabeth sighed and replied, “Because I wish to go out and I would appreciate some company. Since Jonathan is currently out of town, it is only gentlemanly for you to accompany me.”

“I’m no gentleman.”

“Of course you aren’t, my dear.” She then leaned down, pushing the newspaper deliberately down with one hand and crumpling it, and leaned in close enough that her nose just barely brushed the tip of his. “But I would still appreciate your company upon such a lovely evening.”

He snorted at that and sighed, tugging his paper out from under her hands and straightening it up as much as he could before setting it aside. “Fine, fine, you win,” he muttered, “I’ll come with you. Christ.” She stepped back so he could stand up and tilted her head slightly to the side as he huffed and frowned down at her, looking like he was thinking something. After a moment, he stated, “I need to dress like it’s cold outside, I suppose. Wouldn’t want anyone to suspect us, now would we?"

“You would know all of the methods for throwing off suspicion, wouldn’t you, my dear?” she called out as he turned away to move through the house towards their shared bedroom where his clothes were. Even as...aloof...as he was at normal hours of the day these days, he still shared their bed with them as dawn came and had not moved his things anywhere - not even to the spare bedroom they kept in the house just in case there was a need for it. That, to her, said a great deal more than his behavior the rest of the time did. “After all, you did survive amongst vampire hunters that you yourself trained for thirty years with only those you specifically told being the wiser for it.”

Geoffrey paused out the door on his way towards the stairs and turned back to grin at her, flashing just a hint of a fang with an almost devilish gleam in his eyes. “Oh, don’t you worry, Elisabeth,” he stated confidently. “I can keep us safe.”

Elisabeth laughed brightly in reply to that and shook her head as he blinked at her. “Oh, Geoffrey, my dear,” she said with fond affection, “I am certainly not worried about danger if it finds us. I will remind you of who my father was.”

He opened his mouth as if he was going to reply, then stopped, shook his head, and continued on his way. Elisabeth smiled as she watched him go, tilting her head slightly as she could watch him through the open doorway as he ascended the stairs from where she stood.

It was, after all, a view to appreciate.

Thankfully he did not take long to reappear, quickly coming down the stairs with his heavy boots on and his scarf hanging around his neck, tugging his old ragged coat that he had had thirty years before into place across his shoulders. She sighed a little at the sight of the coat since it had looked like it was on it’s last days since he had arrived on their doorstep in it, and wondered briefly if she could manage to eventually outfit him with a new one. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of his appearance, not at all, but more that he  _ deserved _ better.

As Geoffrey moved back towards her, she reached out to straighten the scarf hanging from around his neck, the old fabric soft and worn underneath her fingertips. He allowed her to do so without complaint or even saying anything, just watching her intently with a curious expression. Then he huffed and asked in a slightly teasing tone, “Do I pass judgment for accompanying you outside?”

“I am not judging, Geoffrey,” she replied with a smile, canting her eyes up at him as she let her hands fall away from the scarf, fingertips tracing over the buttons of his shirt before they fell away entirely. “I would not wish to change a thing about you, we like you as you are. Now come. Won’t you escort a lady out the door?”

He let out another huff of breath and then held out his arm, making a vague grumbling noise when she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. As they headed towards the door, she felt his muscles tense beneath her hand and reached out with her other hand to gently grip his upper arm briefly. “Relax, my dear,” she reassured softly as he reached out to grasp the doorknob. “There’s nothing to fear.”

At that he turned to look at her with an expression that was purely shock and stated flatly, “I’m  _ not _ your husband. You don’t think people are going to notice?”

“At this time of the evening?” Elisabeth replied, taking a step forward. He remained firmly in place, however, and she sighed. Freeing her hand from his arm, she reached up to cup his face between her hands and stated flatly, “I do not  _ care _ if people notice, Geoffrey.”

“I...what we do isn’t exactly  _ normal _ , Elisabeth!”

She tilted her head to the side, frowning, and stated, “What about it is not normal? We all care for each other, yes?”

“I...I don’t…”

Sighing, Elisabeth stroked her thumb across his cheekbone and murmured, “I am not asking for promises of affection or broad declarations of love, Geoffrey. You share our home and our bed. Our lives these past few months. We care for you. And you for us, no?”

He blinked at her, a look of what was almost  _ fear _ on his face, then his shoulders slumped and he leaned into her touch. As his eyes fluttered shut, he whispered, “ _ Yes _ . I...care.”

Smiling, she rose on her toes to press a kiss against his lips. “We ask nothing of you that you cannot give, my dear. Our lives are ever so long and we have the ability to be patient more than anything.” Elisabeth then asked, “Do you think our motives are deceptive?”

“What?” he asked, his eyes flying open. “No. Not after...not after what happened with Reid. I wouldn’t still be here if I thought either of you were playing games and I don’t...Reid can’t lie to save his life. His feelings don’t lie.”

“Then why are you afraid?”

He blinked and his eyes darted away from hers before he jerked his head away, turning fully to the side. She let him go, allowing her hands to slide down to rest along his throat, and felt his pulse flutter against her palms - beating far faster than their naturally slower heart rate normally did or even his own near human one usually did. Geoffrey swallowed nervously and then he cursed under his breath, using a word that  _ distinctly _ wasn’t English, before he looked back down at her.

“Men aren’t meant to love men like they love women,” he whispered. “That’s what I was taught. And I may not have paid attention too much, but I did  _ know _ about men being caught and punished for it. I remember Wilde’s trial, heard all sorts of shit about it. How do you think that felt?”

Elisabeth slowly slid one hand back up to cup his cheek, murmuring, “I imagine you were scared to be who you are. But we no longer have to fear that, Geoffrey.”

“We aren’t above the  _ law _ , Elisabeth. Even Priwen wasn’t, no matter how it seemed that way during all that shit Swansea unleashed.”

“Above the law is not what I mean. I mean that we need not fear arrest by mortal authorities. It would be nothing for us to make them forget long enough for us to disappear.”

He stiffened at that. “You have  _ lives _ here.”

Elisabeth just shrugged and replied, “And we can find lives elsewhere. Together.”

Geoffrey frowned at that.

“You can’t give up the lives you’ve made here for me.”

“That is  _ precisely _ the reason why we would,” she stated matter-of-factly. Grasping his chin lightly, she went on, “We made the decision on what to do if you showed up on our doorstep wanting more than our deaths long ago. We are  _ committed _ , Geoffrey McCullum, to each other and to you. Nothing will change that.”

Elisabeth then released him and took a step back, looking up at him with a warm smile. She then held out both hands towards him across the space now between them before she spoke.

“Our hands are extended, my dear, open for you to take whenever you want. The choice to take them is yours and always has been. We would never force you into something that you do not want and if you fear the repercussions too much even now, we would understand. And we are not here to force you to reveal anything more than what you want to.”

He just looked at her for a long moment before he reached out to grasp her hands and pulled her forward into him. She allowed it, pressing herself against him with a little sigh, and tilting her head back to look up at him as she curled her fingers around his. Geoffrey let out a heavy sigh and then he bent his head to press a brief kiss against her forehead before resting his chin atop her head. Their hands hung at their sides, fingers still entangled, and Elisabeth was content to remain in that position for a long as he needed it.

When he finally straightened back up, he coughed and asked, “So...we were going out.”

“We were,” she confirmed with a smile and a squeeze to his fingers. “Are you ready?”

Geoffrey huffed out a breath that had a little bit of a laugh in it and replied, “Ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose. Come on then.”

Elisabeth laughed and stepped away from him, turning to finally open the door. As they stepped out onto the stairs in the night air, she reached for his hand as he looked up and down the street nervously and coiled her fingers with his. He stiffened then grumbled, “We’re in  _ public _ . You have a  _ husband. _ ”

“The public can gossip if they wish,” she replied shortly. Then she leaned in close and purred, “And my husband and I enjoy having  _ you  _ in our bed. Now come. I wish to enjoy the sights of the city with you.”

He grumbled something that she couldn’t hear in response...but when she took the first step down the stairs, there was no hesitation in his movement.

Progress.


	3. Chapter 3

Elisabeth and Reid had been acting very... _ strangely _ ...over the past month. Or, at least, Reid had.

Reid had been continually invading his space in the past few weeks, ever since that night he had come home late and offered to help with the weapons cleaning. ( _ There was that thought again, of here as  _ **_home_ ** .) It had seemed...strange...but he wouldn’t shove away free help, especially not with the state some of those weapons were in. And it had been almost  _ peaceful _ working with him in silence, the only sounds the movements they made as they removed or put back parts and the dull hiss of bristles and rags across the surface of wood and metal.

The only actual contact they had every time was that one or the other would move their legs underneath the table to touch the other. He had been the one the first time, daring his own nerves to try and show that he wasn’t...that he wasn’t angry  _ at _ the leech.

Ever since that night when he had given away too much, he’d been angry at  _ himself _ .

Angry because he’d given away too much what felt like all too soon. He had only been here for a few months, after all, he couldn’t be  _ in love _ . Fuck, he didn’t even know what being  _ in love _ implied given that he never had been in his life.

So he had let the interactions with Reid go on...until the other man had had to go on a trip for his work, and then Elisabeth had practically kicked open  _ everything _ he had been feeling like it was a hornet’s nest.

No. No,  _ she _ had not kicked it open.

_ He had _ . Out of sheer, stupid  _ fear _ .

Old fears and new ones, nipping at his heels after him like starving dogs. Hounding him even though he wanted them to go away. He’d had too many years as a hunter and had had to leave everything he knew to make sure the peace was kept, didn’t he deserve happiness? Or did he not for what he’d done?

Killing his brother. Liking men  _ and _ women. Not killing himself when he’d woken up a vampire nor the bastard who’d turned him after. Effectively turning a young girl into a killer (even if she had chosen the life, he’d been the one to let her stay). How many more smaller crimes were there to add to that?

He hadn’t spilled  _ all _ of that to Elisabeth but all of it piling up had made the ones that involved her come out. And she had taken them all in simple stride and just...brushed them aside...while at the same time getting him to confirm that yes, he did care about them.

Too much.

God, he had come to care about them far too much.

_ “Don’t get too close to anyone, boy,”  _ Carl had used to say.  _ “If they don’t use you...chances are if they’re in our line of work, they’ve got a damned good chance of turning. And what do we do if one of ours gets turned?” _

_ “We kill them,” _ he had answered - just a  _ boy _ \- younger than Hawk had ever been while she’d been under the Guard’s care.

_ “That’s a smart lad. And if you get got?” _

_ “I...use my gun on myself, sir. To the heart.” _

He had always tried to follow what Carl had said. The man had been his savior, practically his father himself given he’d raised him from so young. But...over forty years since his death and the shine had been cracking off of his image of Carl for a long time. Especially now. God,  _ especially _ fucking now.

Geoffrey was not only a vampire - strike one - but he had also fully given into his want for a  _ man _ of all things - strike two - and he had given command of the Guard over to a woman - strike three. Carl, however...wasn’t there. Hadn’t been there for a long damned time and he’d had to survive on his own after Priwen fell to him. Done what he could up until he couldn’t anymore to keep them afloat and alive, to not let them die out because there was  _ some _ good in the Guard.

He wasn’t a hunter anymore.

He wasn’t Priwen anymore.

_ That _ were the two main conclusions he came to after he and Elisabeth had returned to the house and in the weeks after. Those and that...maybe he did deserve to be happy. Maybe it wasn’t the life that Carl had intended for him or that he had intended for himself but he could never have either of those lives anymore. The choice had been taken from him in a spur of the moment decision by Reid.

But he was still  _ alive _ .

He could still have a life after the Guard and London.

He just...had to not be afraid to reach for it. To reach out and take those open hands that Elisabeth had spoken about. It was a  _ terrifying _ idea, to put himself into their hands so much. To  _ give _ so much of himself to another person, let alone two other people. And yet…

_ Geoffrey wanted to. _

He wanted to be in their lives, not separate. Both of them. Elisabeth was all too right, he did care about them. Perhaps too much...or perhaps just enough? Fuck,  _ what did it matter? _ He didn’t have to excuse himself to anyone  _ but them _ .

Not fucking Carl.

Not Morrow, God rest the old blacksmith’s soul.

Not Ambrose or anyone else in Priwen.

Not Hawk either...though she’d no doubt be telling him to  _ go for it, for fuck’s sake _ if she were with him.

All he had was  _ him _ and  _ them. _

Standing up from the table where he had been continuing his work with the weapons over the past few weeks, Geoffrey laid down the pistol that he had been working on onto the cloth he always laid over the table. Slowly padding through the house, bare feet quiet against the floor, he stopped in the doorway to the front room and leaned against the side.

Inside the room, Reid looked up from where he had been leaning over the back of the couch to kiss Elisabeth, his coat and jacket off and his tie half-loose around his neck. The other man smiled that painfully  _ soft _ smile that he had, the one that seemed to be reserved just for them. Elisabeth lifted her head as well and her smile was warm and welcoming as she reached out a hand towards him, the other closing the book she had been holding on her lap.

“Geoffrey, will you join us?” she asked

He stood there for a moment just looking at them and then stepped forward to take her hand, returning her smile with what he wasn’t entirely certain was an answering one. His eyes darted from hers to Reid’s and he felt warmth and affection for them that was purely his, not an echo from his maker.

“Yes,” he replied softly.

He chose  _ them. _

He chose  _ this. _

This was one of the few things he had really chosen for himself...and he wasn’t going to give up on it so soon after finding it.


End file.
